If It Doesn't Reach You
by bridepride
Summary: Kagami returns to America for Christmas, which gives Kuroko some time to mull over his past and the events that had taken place which led to his wanting to quit the basketball team in middle school. It is then that Kuroko realises just how much Kagami truly means to him and decides he wishes to show him his gratitude. However, upon Kagami's return, he's shocked at what's happened.
1. The Significance of Seirin and Kagami

_**Author here! Okay, I realised there are a few things I had to clear up...I should have thought of this before...damn. Anyway, this story is going to be set after Seirin's won the Winter Cup, but it's a sort of "what if" Kuroko and Aomine had not come to speaking terms even after Kuroko beat Aomine. The GoM won't appear in the first few chapters, but patience, my lovelies, for they will appear and be a huge part of it! With nothing else I can think of adding, please enjoy! ^.^ **_

* * *

Years have passed since the event that cannot be mentioned occurred. It has become unutterable between the Generation of Miracles, so much so that the light and shadow of the team that were once inseparable no longer know why a glass wall had become erected between them, seemingly permanently separating them. As this wall is glass, there are times when both these people do not see the separation, but are reminded of it whenever they try to cross over to the other side. This is the outcome of their time spent in middle school as a team and nothing will change that, no matter how much the light and shadow wish to be reunited; after all, a shadow can only have one light.

The rain pattered softly all around Kuroko and the darkness of the night sky contrasted with the bright glimmering lights of the houses on the streets. A street lamp stood proudly next to him, causing the pavement underneath it to softly glow, it gently getting darker the further away one got from the street lamp; the water on the floor glimmered like coins as the light of the lamp hit it. The rain seeped through the grey hoodie Kuroko wore, causing the small, lean boy to shiver. He had wanted to take a walk, even though he knew it was going to rain and now he was dealing with the consequences. No doubt he'd catch a cold later on.

A full moon beamed down at him, bathing him in soft silver light and causing shadows to accentuate his face where it could not reach. Suddenly, a buzzing sound broke the tranquillity of the place, bringing Kuroko out of his thoughts. His phone vibrated in his jeans pocket; since it was still raining heavily, he looked around, noticing a bus stop with a shelter a few feet away. Jogging up to it, he took refuge from the rain and reached into his pocket to answer his phone that had not stopped ringing.

Checking the caller ID, he realised it was his mum; guessing she was calling to ask him to come home, he answered anyway. And he was right. The call lasted less than a minute and afterwards, because he was an obedient child, he immediately made his way home.

-/-/-/-

Upon reaching his house, Kuroko placed his key in the lock and opened the door. As soon as he closed the door behind him, his doting mother had come out of nowhere and bombarded him with questions and rambled on about how worried she was. A soft smile played on Kuroko's lips.

"I'm sorry to have caused you trouble, I just wanted to get some fresh air," he said in his monotonous voice. His mother sighed then told him to get changed out of his soaked clothes and Kuroko complied.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," she called up to him as he ascended the stairs. Kuroko made a noise of acknowledgement, and went straight into his room.

Kuroko's bedroom was quite large, with cream coloured walls and like his entire house, his room's floor was wooden and polished to perfection. A large window stood to the right, overlooking a regular-sized garden and a futon sat comfortably beside the wall opposite his door. A desk and computer were situated underneath the window and many books were strewn across the floor from the bookshelf that was beside the window. Four bean bags, each a different colour, gathered together in a corner beside the bookshelf; they'd be pulled out when he had friends over. In another corner was a simple, yet elegant wooden wardrobe with two long mirrors built into the doors of it, its colour matched the floor. A round, fluffy baby blue rug sat contentedly in the middle of the room.

Kuroko stripped off his wet clothes, having particular trouble with his jeans but managing to get them off nonetheless. He pulled out a bean bag, not taking into account the colour of it and brought it nearer to the centre of the room, then sat down, too tired to move, his clothes strewn across the floor. His elbows rested on his knees and his head rested in his hands, his gaze settling on a random part of a wall, but not registering it. Basketball practice was as tough as ever; it always ended in him collapsing and/or vomiting and today had been no different, even though everyone else was on Christmas break, their coach still wanted them to practice.

Kuroko replayed the main events of today in his mind, smiling at the memories of playing basketball with his friends; it took him back to the days in Teiko, before their team has become so warped and set on winning, when basketball used to be about having fun and enjoying yourself. And then it had changed, once Akashi had changed; once everyone else had nurtured their talents greatly. They had stopped relying on him, including his former light. The day he had gone to see Aomine when he'd left basketball practice, like today, it had been raining; the sky grey and overcast. Kuroko had tried to reason with him, but was met with words that pierced his heart instead. Even now he felt the clenching, vice-like grip those words had had on him; it had not disappeared in the slightest. However, what had happened afterwards was what had hurt Kuroko even more; it was as if a thick, opaque screen had been erected in his brain in order to stop him from reliving that event, but even thinking about that brought tears to his eyes; however he fought them back, remembering that all had not been lost. Yes, he suffered for a while, but he decided that if that was the case, he'd suffer a thousand folds, if it meant he would have found Kagami and his current team again. He was happy now, even though there were unresolved issues, wounds that had not sealed; he was still happy. Due to his team. Due to Kagami. They had never let him down, not once and he knew they never would; he knew they would play to the best of their abilities, they would never give up until the end, but most importantly, they would always love basketball as much as he did. Truly, he was glad to be a part of Seirin's basketball team and to have become Kagami's shadow. Especially Kagami's shadow. Kagami knew him better than anyone else; he'd always restored his determination and will when he was on the brink of giving up; he made sure Kuroko knew he could always rely on him. Always. And he had yet to let him down and Kuroko knew he wouldn't. Kagami had pulled him out of despair many times and it was always due to him he was able to think rationally and devise a plan when his team needed one. Whenever he and his team needed him, Kaga-

"Tetsuya! Dinner's ready!" He heard his mother shout from downstairs. Startled, Kuroko's head shot up; it was only then that he wondered how long he had been sitting like this, in just his underwear. Rustling his hair with his hands, Kuroko got up; throwing on a loose-fitted white shirt and a pair of comfortable light blue trousers, then went downstairs.

The comforting scent of rice mingled with curry wafted through the air and reached Kuroko's nostrils, immediately causing his stomach to grumble, reminding him of his hungry he was. Kuroko quickened his pace and took his place at the set dinner table, his mother and father seated there already. Having already had his food, Nigou sat by Kuroko's feet, nipping his trousers affectionately. Kuroko smiled softly down at him, the small puppy looking up with unhidden affection in his eyes.

"Tetsuya, how is basketball practice?" His father questioned, his voice sounding quieter and more strained than usual. Kuroko turned his gaze to the reserved, yet kind eyes of his father, his expression as blank as Kuroko's normally was. However, Kuroko couldn't tell if he'd imagined it or not, but he was quite sure he saw a flash of pain in his father's eyes, before it was replaced by an expressionless mask once again. It had happened so quickly that Kuroko decided he truly had imagined it.

"It's going well; thank you for asking," Kuroko replied. A small, satisfied smile grazed the man's face.

"I'm glad," he simply said.

And with that, the three family members tucked into their food; small outbursts of conversation occurring throughout their meal, the strange behaviour and expression of his father forgotten. However, what remained on Kuroko's mind was what he'd been thinking about earlier.

If Kuroko had to say, he would say that Kagami was the reason he was able to keep looking forward; he pulled him along and made him believe everything would be okay, even though it had really been him that had said all those bold statements to Kagami. He only realised now that Kagami was the one that had been able to make him to let go of the past he shared with the Generation of Miracles. And it was then that Kuroko realised exactly how significant Kagami was to him and how he had to convey that to him, even though the red haired boy would just be confused out of his mind. Kuroko decided he'd find a way to portray how he felt to Kagami once he'd returned from America; he had gone back to spend the holidays with his family, much to the anger of their coach, however, she understood Kagami hadn't seen them in a while, so she had let him off. Kuroko would definitely think of something before Kagami came back.

Suddenly, a plate shattered on the floor. Immediately turning towards the sound, Kuroko had just enough time to see his father falling off his chair. Reacting instantly, Kuroko managed to catch his father's upper half before it hit the ground. He now knelt on the floor with his father in his arms, his eyes wide with horror, hearing his father wheezing and gasping for air.

"Anata!" His mother exclaimed in fear, rushing to where the two men were, whilst calling him over and over again. Kuroko could only stare with widened, terror-stricken eyes at the weakened man in his arms.

Snapping out of it, he turned to his mother.

"Mum, please call an ambulance," he stated, his voice unable to convey the panic he felt. Tear-filled eyes looked up at him and nodded, the woman swiftly getting up, despite her shaking legs. Kuroko heard snippets of the phone call, but did not let himself relax. He swiftly put his father in the recovery position, unsure as to whether that would do anything. "Dad, please stay awake, don't slip into unconsciousness; stay with me, with mum."

Kuroko murmured words of encouragement, hoping the ambulance would reach them before his father passed out.


	2. On the Subject of Kagami's Return

_**Stranger (aka Guest): **_I hope this was quick enough for you; I tried~

* * *

Kagami took in the warmth of the airport terminal, having been outside in the freezing cold. It had been two weeks since his arrival in America and he was itching to go back and see his team and Kuroko. He hoped Kuroko would at least give one of his rare smiles when he sees him, the ones which made just about anyone melt. Of course, spending time with his close and extended family had been a lot of fun and he'd probably put on more weight than he hoped to due to their complaining that he doesn't have enough meat on his bones, even though he was really muscular, but he missed practicing with his team. He missed all of them dearly, though he'd probably never tell him that. He wondered how they'd react to seeing him. Did they know he was coming home today? He was certain he'd not told them, but who knew. He looked up at the large, dominating board that announced the arrivals and departures. He had been so restless that he'd left fairly early for his flight, so now he had two hours to waste. In his already restless state, two hours seemed like two years to him. Wonderful.

-/-/-/-

Kagami now sat on the plane, looking out of the window to be met with a grey, overcast sky. Almost as if on cue, the first raindrops started to fall, staining the window he was looking out of by glittering blithely. He had ended up in an arcade playing pointless games for the most part of his wait and once he'd gotten bored of that, he'd bought a few (a lot of) snacks and munched on them nonchalantly whilst listening to music.

Because Kagami's family was quite rich (quite being an understatement), he always travelled in first class and today was no different, though he wasn't complaining; he probably couldn't fit into the seats otherwise due to his long legs. All the safety procedures had been read out and the plane was now moving to position itself to take off down the runway. While most people hated this part of the journey, Kagami had gotten accustomed to it and had even started to enjoy the nostalgic feelings it brought back. While the plane raced down the runway, a grin plastered itself onto Kagami's face, as he bade goodbye to America in his mind.

He hadn't had much sleep the night before, since he was too excited to finally be going back to Japan and despite this, he didn't think he'd fall asleep on the plane ride, because he was still so restless. However, a mere ten minutes into the take-off and Kagami was out cold, his headphones' blaring music not seeming to affect him. Therefore, it took him by huge surprise when he was gently shaken by someone only, what felt like, a few minutes later. Reacting by instinct, his arms flailed, almost hitting the person that had woken him up.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted without thinking, staring up at the air stewardess that was looking at him in surprise. It took a few seconds for her to compose herself before she addressed him.

"Excuse me, sir, but we have landed," she said formally, following procedure, but not disregarding the boy's muscular build and glaring face.

A surprised expression passed over his face, before it was quickly replaced by an elated grin.

"Oh. Thanks. And...uh...sorry about that; you surprised me," he laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. The stewardess smiled at him, realising he wasn't as rude as he first seemed; she'd merely caught him off-guard.

"It's no problem sir; I hope you enjoyed your flight," with that, she turned and left, giving Kagami space to get up and take his things before leaving the plane.

After that, everything seemed to be a blur, until he was finally standing outside the airport. It had been a very long flight, his strained neck told him, but he was finally back and he couldn't wait to see everyone else. Kagami couldn't help but grin widely all throughout his journey to his flat. He had hailed a cab and was now looking out as the sun peeped up from behind the horizon, causing the dreary, grey sky to immediately burst into many shades of pinks, oranges and yellows. The sun hit his eyes as if to greet him, but Kagami didn't mind; he wasn't focused on that. It had felt like a lifetime since he last saw everyone; he could hardly wait.

Hours seemed to have ticked by by the time he'd reached his apartment, however, Kagami knew it was only because he was feeling impatient; so he gave himself a moment to calm down, before paying the cab driver and taking his things up. Turning his key in the lock, a rush of memories almost washed him away, as they started swirling in his mind. How many times had he opened this door and found his teammates gathered here? How many times had he eaten more than usual in this place when he'd lost a match? How many times had he laughed and cried and screamed and celebrated with his team in this house?

Creases formed in Kagami's eyebrows, once he realised he'd just been standing there for God-knows how long. Mentally hitting himself for thinking such cheesy thoughts and telling himself to get a grip, because his teammates would definitely laugh at him if they knew what he was thinking, Kagami opened the door and stepped inside with the entirety of his luggage.

And again a rush of memories and emotions hit, but this time, he did get washed away by them. His knees became weak and tears pricked his eyes. He didn't think staying away from Seirin for this long would affect him so greatly, but clearly he was wrong. Kneeling on the floor, because his legs could not support him at the moment, Kagami let all the emotions and memories wash over him, bathe him, drown him. The victories, the defeats, the tears, the pain, the laughter, the joy.

They had all inadvertently decided that Kagami's apartment would become their base after any match because he lived alone and it was apparently huge. But it wasn't as if he'd minded in the first place; looking back at it now, he was glad it had turned out like this; he enjoyed cooking, especially when there were more people than just him to appreciate his food...he also enjoyed not having to eat Riko's food, though he'd never outright tell her that; he valued his life.

Suddenly, a wave of fatigue hit Kagami very hard. Leaving his luggage in the living room of his apartment, Kagami had just enough time to make it to his bed before he almost passed out once his head hit his pillow; he guessed Seirin could wait. And with that final thought, Kagami fell into a deep slumber, not waking up for many, many hours.

Kagami didn't know when he did wake up, but he'd looked out of his bedroom window for a second and was met with the inky blue starless sky, the city lights of the residential and commercial buildings replacing the missing stars. However, before his brain could register this, he was whisked away by sleep once again. This time, he dreamt. He dreamt of…basketball. Obviously. Through the pitch black darkness of sleep, many images and videos emerged of him and his team mates and of all the times they had shared together; all these experiences and wishes and hopes merged, like ingredients in a cauldron being mixed by a wooden spoon, so much so that Kagami could no longer distinguish between fact and fiction. A continuous ringing started to sound while all this played in his mind, slowly coaxing him from unconsciousness to subconsciousness then finally to full consciousness.

Red orbs slowly emerged from underneath the eyelashed lids that hid them. Kagami stared up at his pale ceiling, it taking a while for him to register the relentless banging and ringing. Extremely muffled voices seeped through Kagami's bedroom door, but despite all the commotion, he remained in bed, unable and unwilling to move his body. Until he finally got irritated by this person's persistence and stormed out of his bedroom to his front door. Many voices arguing and shouting poured through his front door; he barely registered a female voice shout, "oy, Bakagami," before he angrily swung the door open and shouted,

"Who're you calling Bakagami?!"

Needless to say, Riko punched him.

"Owww, damn it, did you have to hit me?!" Kagami rubbed his head where she hit.

"KAGAMIII!" Most of his team exclaimed, jumping on him before Riko could reply.

Underneath the many bodies of male basketballers was another, who was suffocating to death.

"Oy, oy...get...off...me," he managed to get out, his strained voice being devoured by all the exclamations of joy coming from on top of him.

"Okay, guys, don't you think you should let him live; he just came back after all," Hyuuga stated from beside Riko, his arms crossed over his chest.

The basketballers whined and complained, but slowly peeled themselves off the poor boy that had been almost crushed to death.

Once everyone had been seated in his living room and were talking nonchalantly with each other, Kagami stood up, surprisingly quick to recover from their attack.

"So..uh...well...I don't know what the time is, but is anyone hungry?" He asked, catching the boys' attention at the mention of food.

Everyone assented to the thought of Kagami's cooking, causing the boy to grin widely.

"Okay," he looked around, having not caught sight of his closest friend; "where's Kuroko?" He asked, expecting him to magically appear beside him as he always did.

Outside the window, a cloud passing in front of the moon could be seen once the question left Kagami's mouth. A tense silence followed, no one meeting his gaze. Not sure what to make of this, he stood there awkwardly, hoping for someone to speak up. Finally, once the tension had wrapped its vice-like grip on everyone far too tightly, Hyuuga cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him.

"Kuroko hasn't come to practice for the whole time you were gone," he said slowly, "the day after you left, his dad was hospitalised; he's been there the whole time. It's obvious he and his family haven't exactly had a Christmas to celebrate."

Kagami's eyes widened considerably, not expecting this at all. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out. Looking around the room, he could see the grim faces of his colleagues still refusing to look at him.

"Wha-th-b-" Kagami could not form coherent words; he didn't know what to say or do to make the situation better, which caused him to close his mouth, realising the right response was not going to come to him any time soon. He swallowed hard, causing his Adam's apple to bob down, then back to where it was. All he could think about was what he could do to help his friend, or at least make him feel better; however, no thought came to him.

A tense silence had settled in again, nervous glances being thrown around the room; some shifted restlessly, unable to cope with it. Many were lost in their thoughts, trying to understand what part they played in aiding Kuroko.

"I," Kagami muttered, his face hidden beneath his hair; the noise causing everyone to look at him, "I have to go see Kuroko now." He stated, looking Hyuuga straight in the eye, his determination evident in his clear red irises. "Which hospital is he at?"

Hyuuga got up.

"Look, Kagami, I know you want to help him, but at the moment, yo-"

"Don't try to stop me!" Kagami shouted, his eyes narrowing and his body getting into a defensive stance.

"Idiot. Let me finish. I was going to say, at the moment you won't be allowed, because visiting times are over. You have to go tomorrow," he crossed his arms, looking at Kagami with irritation.

"…Oh," was all Kagami could get out, his posture relaxing.


	3. Kuroko's Father and Bakagami

"In any case, for now, I think you should rest; you only came back after all," Hyuuga stated, sitting down once again, Kagami following his lead.

"Oh…well, you see, I slept for over a whole day," Kagami replied, "I won't be able to go back to sleep now." he rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"Hm…jet lag is tough isn't it," Riko half-sang.

"Airheads (boke) get jet lag (jisa boke)," Izuki said sagaciously, sticking his index finger in the air.

"Go die!" Kagami shouted, viciously throwing a cushion at his face.

-/-/-/-

The winter sun slowly crept up the sky, slowly bathing the interior of a pristine, white hospital ward with warm yellow light. In the ward resided a sole bed beside the large, wide window the sun had entered from. On this bed resided a lone man, unmoving. Beside him stood a desk and all the equipment any hospital ward would have, the ECG indicating a regular heartbeat. Beside the frozen man's hand lay tufts of greasy light blue hair above pale, thin arms, indicating the adolescent boy that sat in the chair beside the bed was sleeping blithely.

A distant shout broke the tranquillity of the room, immediately causing the boy to stir. Turning to look behind him, where the open door was situated, Kuroko was surprised to find a fuming red-haired boy standing by it. His eyes travelled from him to his dad that lay motionless on the bed and immediately, his anger dissipated.

"Yo, Kuroko," he stated slightly quieter than he normally would, then stepped inside the room to make his way to him.

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko uttered, surprise laced in his voice. An undertone of fatigue could also be heard.

"It's been a while, huh," Kagami muttered. Kuroko nodded, both boys turned their gaze back to the man that lay on the bed; a silence settled in before Kagami spoke again, "I wish I could've met your old man under better circumstances."

Kuroko nodded.

"I wish that were the case too," he merely said.

A silence once again settled. However, in both boys' minds whirled thoughts that could not be put into words. When Kuroko thought that his would fall off, Kagami spoke once again.

"So, what did they say was wrong?" he asked. When Kuroko did not immediately respond, he quickly added, "uh, well, you don't have to tell me, I mean it's probably hard for you to talk about and uh, obviously I'm not going to force you to tell me, so just take your time...and..."

Kagami continued rambling, catching the sleep-deprived Kuroko by surprise. A small smile grazed his lips. Outside, two small birds had started chirping and fluttering in front of the large window, causing the two boys' gazes to be diverted for a few seconds. Afterwards, Kuroko addressed Kagami.

"Kagami-kun, it's okay. I will tell you," he stated, trying to pacify the red-haired boy. His smile disappeared once he thought about what he was going to say next, "my dad had a heart attack. They said that oxygen had stopped reaching parts of his brain for too long, so some of it can't function properly...they said," Kuroko took a deep breath, "they said that, as he is right now, he is fully aware of his surroundings and he can fall in and out of consciousness, however, he cannot respond aside from squeezing things with his hands."

Kagami was lost for words. That wasn't something that normally happened, but he really did not know what to say in response. The more Kuroko had spoken, the more his heart had plummeted; he had known that whatever it was that had hospitalised Kuroko's father had been serious, but he would have never imagined something like this... Sensing this, Kuroko addressed him once again.

"You don't have to say anything, Kagami-kun. Just the fact that you are here is more than enough," he uttered softly.

"Sorry," Kagami muttered, "I don't really know what to say with things like this. I've...uh...I heard from our upperclassmen about your old man being in hospital and I...well...uh...I...I mean..."

Kuroko turned to face Kagami, his curiosity piqued as to what it was that was so difficult for him to say. He found the red-haired boy looking anywhere else but him; so he waited patiently.

"Never mind, forget it," Kagami muttered, grimacing at whatever thought he'd had.

Kuroko frowned, but said nothing and for the third time, a silence settled.

He was worried about him, Kagami had thought and almost said, but he guessed he really couldn't bring himself to properly say so.

Finally taking a proper look at Kuroko, Kagami frowned.

"Oy, you haven't been eating properly, have you," he said; his tone indicating a statement, not a question.

"Kagami-kun, I don't know why you'd assume that. I have been eating as normally as possible," Kuroko replied, cocking his head to the side. Kagami glared at him.

"To hell you have been! You've gotten even skinnier than I remember you! Damn it, Kuroko, this isn't what your dad would want, right? This isn't what anyone would want." Kagami shouted passionately, his eyebrows furrowing and eyes narrowing.

"Kagami-ku-" Kuroko started.

"Get your ass to the canteen now," Kagami commanded, his voice lowering slightly. About to protest, Kuroko looked at him squarely, only to be met with an expression that would not be defied. His unspoken words fell from his lips. "If you don't, I'll drag you there myself. Idiot."

Kuroko didn't protest; he merely got up and silently made his way out of the room, Kagami watching him as he left. It was only then that he realised he was now alone with Kuroko's father. Turning to face him, Kagami sat in the chair Kuroko had been occupying.

"Yo, Kuroko's dad," He stated; then paused, wondering what to say next. Out of instinct, he grabbed the man's frail hand in both of his, looking at the floor instead of the man lying in front of him, "I'll take care of Kuroko and his mom," he muttered, "I'm not trying to replace you, or anything, but I want you to know that there are people looking out for them. I'll take care of them until you come back. So, please come back soon. They both need you. Kuroko looks terrible and his mom doesn't look any better. I met her today. She seems nice. She asked how I was doing before anything else. You can't think bad about a person like that. They're both worried and afraid, so please don't leave them in a state like that any longer. I beg you…." He trailed off, "you know, it's funny; I didn't like Kuroko at first. I thought he was weak and would get in my way, but he grows on you and before I knew it, I was relying on him to save my ass. You have an amazing family," Kagami looked up and to his surprise, he found a thin trail of liquid making its way from the man's jaded eyes down the side of his face, pattering silently on the pillow, causing it to darken to a soft grey.

Seeing this, Kagami cursed in English.

"Shit. I didn't mean to make you cry. Sorry. I…I shouldn't have said those stuff. I was just rambling and saying what was on my mind and not thinking about it. I'm sorry. Crap. I'm really sorry," Kagami rambled.

A slight tightening pressure on his hand caused the rest of his words to fall off his lips. Staring at his two hands that had remained grasping the man's one, he found it gripping onto him tightly, it shaking as the man did so. It seemed as if he was saying to him to take care of his family; he wanted him to do so. Kagami didn't know how he knew this, but he just did. Kagami nodded; no words left his mouth from then on. The two men remained in comfortable silence; for once, this didn't bother him. The older man's grip refused to loosen and that was comforting in itself. It told Kagami that Kuroko's father would fight, he would return, he would not let his family suffer much longer. And Kagami believed him. He believed in the determined grip his hand felt.

-/-/-/-

Having finally finished his breakfast, Kuroko made his way down the corridor that led to his father's ward. The pungent smell of alcohol-infused disinfectants mingled with flowery air fresheners wafted throughout the hospital; however, it was particularly strong when nearing patients' wards; the nurses and doctors paying no attention to the greasy-haired boy. As he trudged down the corridor, the one thing that he thought about was how Kagami was handling being alone with his father. He knew that Kagami didn't exactly have…"delicacy", so he worried that he had left Kagami in an uncomfortable position…perhaps he should have asked him to come along.

As he reached the room, he was about to call his name, but what he saw pleasantly surprised him. Though the scene was quite grim to behold, it made Kuroko realise that there really was nothing to be worried about; as always, Kagami had managed to pull through.

There sat Kagami in the sleek hospital armchair he himself had been occupying only a while ago, with his head bent, as if deep in thought, his father's hand held tightly in both of his. The sun's pale yellow light splashed on the two figures, accentuating Kagami's red hair along with Kuroko's father's fragile body. A small smile played on Kuroko's lips, but immediately vanished, as he stepped inside.

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko uttered, once he stood next to him.

"Ahh!" Kagami exclaimed, jumping up from the chair once he'd heard his name. Realising it was Kuroko, he relaxed. "I forgot about your lack of presence…it's as annoying as ever," he muttered, looking at Kuroko.

"It has been two weeks," Kuroko stated. Kagami nodded, scrutinising Kuroko's body; though it made him uncomfortable, Kuroko didn't show it.

"Oy, how long has it been since you showered?" Kagami asked bluntly. Kuroko frowned.

"I cannot remember."

Kagami's eyebrows furrowed and a frown formed on his face.

"Go get showered, you still look like shit," he stated brutally. Kuroko's frown deepened.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Kagami-kun. I've been away from my dad for far too long already," Kuroko replied, refusing to bend this time. Kagami's eyes softened; however, he too remained unrelenting.

"Kuroko. Get your ass to the shower, or else I'll take you there myself," he uttered, an undertone of threat heard in his voice. Kuroko remained where he was, looking squarely at Kagami. Kagami sighed. "I didn't realise you were that eager to shower with me," he smirked mockingly, "but don't worry, I'd never shower with something that looks like it's about to snap in two."

"Kagami-ku-"

"Shut up. Idiot." Kagami stated, picking Kuroko up and casually throwing him over his shoulders, "dammit. You're too damn light," he muttered, ignoring the protests that spewed from Kuroko's lip; then turning around to look at Kuroko's father, he said, "I'm taking your idiot son to get him showered, so excuse me."

Hearing this, Kuroko quietened down; having little to no energy to protest any longer.

Kagami left the ward, getting curious looks from the nurses and doctors there, but one glare from the red-haired boy sent them all scurrying away from him.

Looking left and right, Kagami's shoulders sagged and his face dead-panned. Sensing the loss in tension, Kuroko raised his head slightly.

"Kagami-kun, what's wrong?" He asked, his curiosity piqued.

The red-haired boy sweat-dropped.

"Uh…could you tell me where the shower room is?" He asked sheepishly. Kuroko sighed.

"Kagami-kun is actually an idiot, isn't he?" he stated in his monotone.

"Oy! Shut up, alright? I…haven't been to this hospital before…so how am I supposed to know?" he asked, his voice getting quieter and quieter.

Kuroko sighed again.

-/-/-/-

The two boys now stood in the large, white, pristine shower room, Kagami having put Kuroko down once he'd locked the door.

"Alright, idiot, I'll turn around, but you'd better shower, got it?" he asked.

"Yes," the blue-haired boy simply said.

Kagami gave him a long, hard look, before going to stand by the door, his back facing him. He heard sounds of clothes being ruffled; taking that as a good sign, Kagami relaxed. However, after a few minutes of this noise increasing in earnest, the red-haired boy turned around without thinking.

"Oy, Kuroko-" he started, catching the fumbling boy off guard. Kuroko looked up at Kagami while he continued trying to open the first button on his shirt.

"It seems, despite my breakfast, my strength hasn't returned; I'm unable to undo my buttons," Kuroko stated, almost despairingly.

Kagami frowned.

"You've let yourself get this weak; what's wrong with you? Idiot." He walked up to him, "here," he grabbed Kuroko's hands and moved them away from his shirt, proceeding to undo it himself.

As each button loosened and fell free from the other side of the shirt, more and more of Kuroko's pale skin became visible; while Kuroko became fully aware of this, Kagami didn't even bat an eyelash to the increase in exposed skin displayed in front of him. A slight soft pink dusted Kuroko's cheeks, yet this also escaped the notice of the thick-headed, dense boy in front of him. Once Kagami was all done, he stepped back and frowned.

"Kuroko, man, I've said this too many times, but you're way too weak-looking. Eat properly and start taking care of yourself, alright?" Kagami asked, concerned that more of his friend's rib-cage was showing than it should have been.

"I shall, Kagami-kun," Kuroko replied, the surprise he'd felt at hearing Kagami say such a thing not being conveyed.

"Good," he looked down at Kuroko's trousers and frowned, "are you going to need help with your jeans as well?" he asked innocuously.

The heat of embarrassment immediately rushed back to Kuroko's cheeks.

"No, that'll be fine. I will manage," he stated, as calmly as ever, wondering how on earth Kagami could say such a thing with such a serious expression. Kagami frowned.

"It's gonna be a pain for me if you take even more time than usual to take your jeans off," he stated, "just chill, I won't touch you anywhere you don't want me to."

"Kaga-" Kuroko started, but it was too late.

Kagami fumbled slightly with Kuroko's belt, but got it unfastened fairly easily, then swiftly undone the jeans' button, making sure to not make Kuroko any more uncomfortable by lingering his touch anywhere. However, regardless of how careful he was, Kuroko had felt Kagami's touch as if it had remained there for ages; he was particularly aware how close Kagami's hand was to his…

Bad, bad, bad. Kuroko thought. Now was definitely not the time to be having thoughts like this.

"Alright. All done; now all you need to do is to just shower properly, got it?" he asked. Kuroko nodded, hoping the blush on his face would remain unnoticed, even though it was far darker than before. "Good," Kagami said, before he turned around and went back to where he was standing, hoping the time would pass quickly.

* * *

_**Uwah~ I'm surprised that this many people took an interest in my work; in all honesty, I only expected a few follows for the two chapters I'd put up. You readers make my day; thank you for giving my story a chance ^.^ Slightly longer chapter to make up for the fact I didn't update in a while...personally, I felt there was too much speech; I tried taking some out, but still. /.\ Uhh...I may also just have Izuki say bad English puns, because my Japanese doesn't stretch very far x.x On a slightly side-note, is anyone excited for the next chapter of Kuroko no Basuke: Extra Game? Because I know someone that is *raises hand* \\(*w*)**_


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